I’ve been working on a hobby project for a while, learning Swift and gaining some experience of iOS App development. I reached the stage where the app was worth testing on my iPhone, but found that my version of Xcode (an early v7 beta) required an Apple Developer Licence!

Fortunately, it turns out that upgrading to Xcode 7.2 meant that I could upload to my own phone simply by providing my Apple ID. The upgrade was much easier than I had expected, compared to the number of bad reports on the internet. I used the App Store to upgrade, maybe it’s harder if you download and install the application directly.

Next, I had to find out how to install an application on my device from Xcode. First, connect the device to the Macbook and it will appear in the device list in Xcode above the simulated devices (i.e. all the iPhone and iPad models). Selecting the device by name and clicking run kicks off a full install and runs the app on the phone.

The final question was how to configure my phone to allow apps written by me to run – this was answered on the Apple Developer Forum, and is simply a matter of becoming familiar with Settings -> General -> Profile / Developer App.

I’m impressed by how well Xcode has automated this process, I’m sure a lot of work has gone into making installation onto a device a positive developer experience.